Good People Translate into Good Leaders

I recently read an article in the latest issue of  Entrepreneur Magazine by Ray Silverstein entitled Good People Make Good Leaders. While it is a short article giving basic advice on what you should do to be a good leader, it is good advice.  I recommend reading the article, but the title does a nice job of summing it up. The article focuses on small business leaders, but I think it can be expanded to other aspects of life and to all people, young or old or anywhere in between.

The specific advice that really jumps out at me is 1. listen when others talk, 2. create an environment conducive to sharing and 3. give credit where credit is due.  Isn't this great advice for life? A small business owner should focus on these items (and the rest of the list) in order to become the type of respected leader he/she would like to be, but shouldn't everyone else too? Isn't this what we want from everyone we encounter?

Spring Cleaning....No, Spring Organizing!

It is the time of year when everything is becoming new again. It is also the time of year when most people say - ok, time for Spring Cleaning! I cannot stand Spring Cleaning - or any cleaning for that matter. There just isn't enough return on my investment with cleaning. After 3 hours of cleaning, I get a clean house for about 30 seconds and then my son or my dog will drag in some portion of the backyard and make it all dirty again. Spring Organizing though, that's my thing! I cannot wait to get started. I am just tingling with anticipation. Should I start with my closet or my desk?

Does the thought of Spring Organizing your spaces make your heart race? Here are a few tips to making help make it less overwhelming:

1. Make one location one project. For example, choose your desk (home or office or like me, home office). Don't tell yourself that you are going to organize your whole office, that's just too much for one project. Start small.
2. Still feeling overwhelmed? Divide the project into thirds. Whenever you are staring at a big project, don't concentrate on all you have to do, make one large task into several smaller tasks. It is much more manageable when you do a little bit at a time.
3. 3Rs. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (or as my designer friend, April, would say "repurpose"). Find an old mug with a chip in it - use it for a pen holder.
4. Take everything off of the third of the desk that you are organizing. Divide it into piles. "Must-Have", "May Need At Some Point" and "Get Rid Of" (see #3 for means of disposal). Continue to do this with each of the other third.
5. Use organizational tools such as file folders/labels and wire file holders. I'm in love with my lable maker. Every file on my desk has a label on it. I also color code by client. Then I file the most urgent items on a desk-top filer. Non-urgent things go in my big file cabinet. You will stay organized longer if you have also made your space functional. Often used things should be within easy grasp. Not-often used things - get up and get it if you really need it.
6. Non-work related items need to be removed from your desk. If you want a picture of your family on your desk, fine, but try to limit it to only one item. If you don't need it to do your job, its just wasting your time and your space.

Now, take a look at your desk. Doesn't that look better? Don't you feel better, feel refreshed and renewed? If not, give me a call. I love organizing other people too!

For additional tips on organizing, plus ways to make your space look good, check out my aforementioned friend, April's, blog: http://designforlivingblog.com/

It's Not a Good Deal If You Don't Need It

My husband has this somewhat amusing, somewhat frightening addiction to finding a "good deal." The problem is, he finds "good deals" on things we just don't need. Steve looks at the price of something to determine whether or not it is a good deal. I have been encouraging him to look at the big picture instead. Here are the top things I consider when determining whether or not something is a good deal:

1. Is it useful?
2. Will it last?
3. Do I have anything like it already?
4. How much does it cost?

The great thing about these four simple questions is how versitile they are. You can ask yourself these when purchasing a new item (or when throwing one away) and you can ask yourself these when deciding whether or not to hire someone (just switch the it to he/she).

While my husband would list "How much does it cost?" as the number one question, I consider it last. I have found that cost really has very little to do with whether or not something is a good deal. Sometimes an item or a person's value far exceeds the dollar value and sometimes, you get what you pay for, so its not always a bad idea to pay more.